V souvislosti s osobní účastí jeho excelence pana velvyslance Kansuke Nagaoka na Konferenci EFAAS 2024 V Ostravě pan velvyslanec odpověděl i na otázky magazínu POSITIV Business & Style položené Radúzem Máchou. Plné znění rozhovoru vám přinášíme zde.

The Interview with the Japanese Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mr. Kansuke NAGAOKA

Od: Radúz Mácha, 4. 12. 2024

Your Excellency, we welcome you to our region. We know you are not here for the first time. What comes to your mind when you hear the Moravian-Silesian region in the Czech Republic?

It has been eight months since I came to the Czech Republic, and this is the fourth time that I come to Ostrava. For me, the Moravian-Silesian region is one of the regions that I visit most frequently. In particular, "Japonské dny v Ostravě"　held in October was very impressive. Many aspects of Japanese culture, including music concerts, performances, workshops, books and gastronomy, attracted around three thousand people. It is a magnificent pleasure that such a variety of activities to promote Japanese culture are being carried on a regular basis and are being well received by many people.

In Karviná, an internationally renowned Japanese company "Shimano" that manufactures bicycle gears has been contributing to the local economy over 20 years, and their products must be used by many Czech bicycle lovers. In addition, the Technical University of Ostrava maintains cooperative relationships with several Japanese universities, including Yokohama National University, and its history with Japan goes back more than 20 years. It is also a pleasant surprise to know that the Governor of the region, Mr. Josef Bělica, has been running a KARATE dojo in Havířov for more than 30 years. This region indeed has very deep ties with Japan in various fields.

In which areas do you see potential opportunities for cooperation and collaboration between countries that are more than 9,000 kilometres away from each other as the crow flies?

Japan and the Czech Republic are strategic partners that share their fundamental values, like democracy and human rights. Despite the geographical distance, our relations spanning more than 100 years is marked by support and a long tradition of friendship.

Japan has been the second biggest investing countries in the Czech Republic and as many as 280 Japanese companies are successfully operating throughout the country. The automobile industry remains an important sector, though in recent years, we also see a trend of investments in the field of environmentally friendly products, such as heat pumps and recyclable packaging materials. These products are produced in line with EU regulations and are highly competitive in the EU market and beyond.

The world is facing multiple challenges today, such as geopolitical instability, global climate change, and the aging of society with fewer children. I hope that Japan and the Czech Republic will further deepen their cooperation in solving these global issues.

What would you like from the point of view of Czech-Japanese relations in the coming years?

Japan and the Czech Republic have very good relations in the political, business, economic and cultural fields. If you were to draw a diagram of these relations, it would look like an equilateral triangle. My first task is to further expand and deepen this triangle. I also hope to build new pillars of cooperation, and in particular, I would like to strengthen cooperation in the fields of security and science and technology. With geopolitical risks on the rise, I believe that cooperation in these fields between Japan and the Czech Republic, which share the same values, is extremely important for both countries.

In this respect, I must mention about an important role to be played by EXPO 2025 in Osaka, which will open in the mid-April next year. It gives a great opportunity to bring our relationship to a higher level. The Osaka-Kansai Expo will welcome 28 million visitors from around the world over a six-month period. It is a unique opportunity to showcase the traditional culture and advanced technologies of the Czech Republic not only to Japan, but to the entire world. It will generate even more tourists and new business opportunities for both Japan the Czech Republic. The investment in the EXPO is, therefore, an investment in the future of the Czech economy, and I am pleased to note a growing interest in the Expo by many Czech stakeholders, including the regional governments.

Source: Editorial, https://positiv.cz